A Monster?
by pa'lwints
Summary: You have no idea what hell is. The agony of pain, the torture of a thousand fires. But from that pain, I feel no more agony. I feel nothing. I am immortal.


_**A Monster?**_

_Italics - Flashback_

Disclaimer:: I don't own Twilight or the character, Carlisle. All the other characters are made up by me. All the credit for Carlisle and the history of it belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Constructive criticism is welcomed. No flames please.

_**Carlisle's POV**_

_**-o-o-**_

I heard screaming. Wretched screaming. I saw a flash of glistening whiteness but it quickly was replaced with blood red stains and even more screams and yells of agony. I heard mocking laughter. Laughter that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. The kind of laughter that made me shiver in fright. The kind of laughter that made me fear whatever was making that sound. I saw a chaos of movement, a flurry of disaster. I heard my name being called, distantly, as if I was lost and someone was looking for me. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on my neck, a stinging, burning, and fiery pain that made me wake up from the nightmare I was having.

I sat up in bed, hearing the same screaming throughout the house. Instantly, my mind went back to my dream I had just left. I shook my head in shock, unable to believe that I was seeing and hearing what I had heard in my dream. I stood up quickly and started getting dressed, knowing that something was happening. Loud footsteps were swiftly approaching my door as I started pulling on my shirt.

My father came into my room, making to wake me and was surprised to see that I was already alert and pulling on my shoes.

Regaining his composure, he said, "Carlisle, they're here and they're hungry." With that he left my room, leaving me to finish getting ready. I quickly laced up my last shoe and grabbed my bag before I left the room I would never see again. I could had misgivings about tonight, something that I don't normally feel.

"Carlisle, be careful!" My mother put a cloak over my shoulders, fear and pain in every facet of her voice and face. I smiled at her reassuringly.

"Don't worry. We'll catch them." I couldn't quite believe my own words as they left my lips. I left through the door, leaving my mother watching after me in the doorway. She stared anxiously out into the dark and ominous night, waiting for her boys to come home again. She slowly closed the door, a single tear trickling down her cheek.

I ran down the cobblestone street, my blonde hair flying behind me. The night had quickly become quite and still, an omen that didn't bode well for me. I came to a halt when I saw a shadow move out of the corner of my eye. I instinctly froze, my pulse quickening as I looked to the shadow. I sighed in relief when I saw that it was Cicero, my father's good friend.

"Good, you're here finally. Everyone else has already taken their positions. Come with me; your father said for me to put you in the fore front with Marcus and I." Cicero grabbed me by my upper arm, his firm grip crushing my arm. I winced but said nothing, to proud to say anything. He marched me through the dark alleys and the side-streets, his eyes scanning the darkness for any lurking movements. We finally made it to the front. I pulled my arm away from Cicero's grasp and walked over to my good friend Artorius' side.

"Carlisle." He took me into a hug, patting me strongly on the back.

"Artorius, it's nice to see you," I said in a calm voice.

"I see that your father has finally let you come up to the front now." Artorius led me to the very front of the crowd, passing by the other commoners that had volunteered to help. I could see that they were holding pitchforks and fire. I sighed, knowing that they were doomed against them.

I didn't say anything. I was nervous to be at the front of the attack. It all depended on the front to keep them back and away from the rest of the village. But I was excited as well. I'd never had to fight one of them directly and never got to see one fighting in the back of the attack. I'd heard stories from Artorius and from my father about them but I'd never seen them myself. Curiosity and adrenaline pumped through my veins as I held tightly onto my dagger.

Artorius laughed, seeing the determination in my eyes and the white knuckles that held onto the weapon. He looked appraisingly at me, his eyes gleaming with some secret knowledge that only he knew.

"Calm down, Carlisle. You will have your turn to strike at them." With that, he turned away to talk with Cicero. I inclined my head in their direction, trying to hear their conversation.

"Like father, like son, eh?" Cicero said, turning his gaze to me. I quickly looked away, my cheeks burning. I heard Cicero chuckle softly.

"Yes…he'll become a great hunter," Artorius said, looking at me as well. I stopped listening to their conversation, my ears red. Artorius clapped his hand on Cicero's shoulder and walked back toward me.

Suddenly, a bright red flare went up in the sky. My jaw tightened. The signal. They were here.

Artorius turned toward me, moving in to whisper something in my ear.

"They're here." He took two steps away from me, taking his position. My grip on the dagger became stronger, my heartbeat racing my chest.

I twisted my head around, searching in the shadows for them. I couldn't see anything. A thin layer of fog had started creeping around our feet, making the dark night seem more ominous then usual. A distant shout broke my reverie and my search. It was quickly cut off and several seconds of silence pursued. After a moment of impenetrable quiet, five vampires emerged in front of us, one of them still sucking the blood out of the guard's neck. Throwing the dead and bloodless body to the side, he looked up at us. In the light of the moon, I saw that blood was dripping down his mouth. He smiled, his blood stained teeth glinting in the light.

"Look at them all, like ants meetin' their deaths." The leader had stepped forward, his face gaunt and corpse-like.

"We haven't fed for over a month and we have all these tasty treats standin' before us. Let's have a snack, shall we?" One started to step forward but the leader held out his hand.

"Not yet." The leader looked over each of us, sizing us up, seeing who would be the sweetest, the most desirable. He smiled, showing his razor sharp teeth. "Why don't you give up this futile attack and just give us ten humans and we'll be on our way. We don't want to destroy the entire village, it gets too messy. How about that? Does that sound like a deal?" His voice was dripping with mockery and derision, as he looked into each of our eyes.

"Not a chance, Vlad." Cicero spoke up, his voice stronger than I thought was possible.

"Well that's too bad then." The leader said, frowning.

Several minutes passed, each vampire waiting in mute anxiousness for the go ahead for the attack. But no word came.

"Vlad, when are we going to feed?" One of them spat, about the lurch forward for the attack.

Time had stopped. No one was moving. The silence had pervaded and seeped through everything around us. The fog was becoming more and more incessant, leaving a shadowy haze over the streets. Soon, all we could see were our attackers black, glinting eyes. The moonlight still shone down, giving us the little light possible on this bleak night.

Somewhere through the fog, we heard the melodic voice of the leader ring out.

"Go."

Almost instantly, screams and shouts were heard. The vampires had sprung up, attacking anyone in their path, drinking quickly and then moving onto their next victim. Holding onto my dagger, I looked around, trying to see them through the fog. I was worried. Worried for my friends, for my father, for the village.

"You should worry about yourself, lad, and leave the others to care for themselves."

I turned around swiftly, the haunting voice of the leader, Vlad, still ringing in my ears. His daunting laughter followed me as I turned around and around, looking for my attacker. Something about his laughter seemed familiar, like something trying to come to the surface from deep within my subconscious.

"Round and round the ants they go, where they stop, nobody knows! But I do…."

His mocking voice echoed in my head. I swore, wishing I could find him and kill him and his mockery. I tried to blank out the screams of the others from my mind, concentrating on attacking.

"Come out you dirty vermin!" I yelled, trying to provoke him into coming out. I felt a sharp slap on my face as Vlad ran past me a few paces away. He growled, a low menacing one that sprang from deep within his throat.

"I'm going to kill you," I snarled, facing the fuming vampire.

"Try it." We faced each other squarely, ready to fight. His voice had a look of mock interest, as if he didn't even have to lift a finger to fight me.

I lunged at him, dagger in hand, and tried to stab at him in the stomach but he dodged my attack easily. He started to laugh again. I charged forward, filled with anger and fury, at myself, at my mortality, at his laugh.

"Pathetic." He dodged my attacks again and again.

I was out of breath, trying to follow him and kill him. A stitch was starting to grow in the side of my torso. I leaned over, trying to regain my breath. Vlad chuckled and walked casually over toward me.

"Will you give up this pathetic and futile attack? You have no chance against me." He smiled slyly at me, his dark eyes shining brightly.

"Go to hell." I spat at him.

"Oh, I have, lad, I have. You have no idea what hell is. The agony of pain, the torture of a thousand fires. But from that pain, I feel no more agony. I feel nothing. I am immortal. I will live forever as the devil's playmate." He said, his eyes staring at me menacingly.

I lunged once more for him, running at him with all my might. He sighed and rolled his eyes as if this fight was nothing to him, not even a speck of dirt.

As I had lunged forward, he took my hands and held my arms to my side. Moving his head in for the last breath, I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain that I knew would come. But it didn't come. I opened one eyes slowly, and saw him staring at me intently, his open mouth just inches away from my neck.

"I like you, lad. Hehe…I think I'll keep you around forever." With that, he bent down and sealed my fate.

I felt the stinging pain almost immediately and screamed out in pain. The stinging and burning sensation of a thousand daggers being forced through two measly little holes in my neck. For several minutes everything was suspended in the air, nothing moving or breathing.

Finally, he let go of me, his eyes bright red now. He left me in the middle of the street, running off to be with the rest of the group.

I lay there, panting for breath. I still felt immense pain as I crawled over to a dark alley. I waited there, listening to people calling each other's names. I didn't hear my own name being called.

"Father must be worried," I thought to myself, my eyes threatening to close. "And mother must be scared by now…and what about the horses? Who will feed them in the morning…" I drifted to sleep.

I woke up again three days later. My eyes opened and it was an entirely new world to me. I saw everything in a new light. I was surprised to find myself on the street and not in my bedroom. I stood up gingerly, still feeling groggy from sleeping so long. I walked up and down the streets, seeing no one around.

"That's strange," I thought, walking down Main Street. "There's always market in the mornings."

I stopped walking. I was standing in the same street where the hunt had began.

Suddenly everything came back to me. The hunt. The fighting. The screams. The pain. Them. Him.

I fell to the ground on my knees, my hands on my head, screaming out in agony. I couldn't believe it. It wasn't possible. Cicero. Marcus. Artorius. Father. Mother. Everyone. Killed. Gone. I felt my neck for proof of my realization. I felt two small holes, the size of two teeth.

"Why is this happening to me?" I collapsed onto into a heap on the dirty street, crying despite my pride. I had become what I detested the most. What I had hunted. What I had sworn never to become. I had become a monster.

I stood up in anguish and defeat, walking away from my village, my life, my home, my past. I walked slowly through the gates of the village. I looked back mournfully, wishing everything wouldn't have happened as it had. Looking forward, I walked toward the blood red sun, setting in the west, starting a new life as a monster that lived forever.

In that instant, I remembered what Vlad had said to me.

_"Oh, I have, lad, I have. You have no idea what hell is. The agony of pain, the torture of a thousand fires. But from that pain, I feel no more agony. I feel nothing. I am immortal. I will live forever as the devil's playmate."_


End file.
